There are no stupid questions—and there weren’t Wednesday when about 40 members of the New York Assembly toured a dozen Schoharie County farms and agribusinesses.
At Scott and Kathy Kelleys’ Cobleskill Hawk’s Hill Farm, Assemblywoman Roxanne Persaud was the first to admit she knew next to nothing about cows.
But as a member of the Assembly’s Social Services Committee, Assemblywoman Persaud say she does know food and wanted a firsthand look at where it comes from--and the challenges farmers face in getting it from places like Schoharie County to her home district in Brooklyn.
This was Assemblyman Chris Tague’s 2020 Agriculture Tour, a chance to expose fellow Assembly members from both parties to agriculture and it drew twice the crowd of last year’s.
“These people are all friends,” Assemblyman Tague said as the group gathered around one of the Kelley’s Angus for a photo.
“It’s not politics when we get together. They want to learn everything they can about food and farming and what better place to teach them than Schoharie County.”
The Kelleys talked about the challenges facing them both as small agribusinessmen—Kelley Farm and Garden—and as beef farmers.
“Farmers are not good at having a voice,” Ms. Kelley said. “They’re too busy. I encourage all of you to find some producer to stay in touch with.”
Though it’s not quite a hobby, Mr. Kelley said they started their farm, which includes a small Alpine goat herd—a favorite with Wednesday’s visitors—as a way to teach their three sons the importance of hard work and responsibility.
It’s also taught them invaluable skills, Ms. Kelley said: farmers are engineers, geneticists, veterinarians, and agronomists.
After getting a look at the Kelleys’ beef operation, the legislators climbed on a wagon for a short trip to see Hawk’s Hill’s small dairy goat operation, where most quickly fell in love with the kids.
“I so needed this,” said Brooklyn Assemblywoman Maritza Davila.
“We’ve been through so much [with COVID]. I’m always looking to learn everything I can and this has just been a much-needed break.”
The legislators also visited Cyprus Hill Farm, a crop farm in Middleburgh, and the Middleburgh Winery Wednesday before heading over the hill to the Stamford Farmers Cooperative and Eklund’s Processing, a meat processor also located in Stamford; the Posthaven dairy farm in Hobart, and the Shaver-Hill Maple farm in Harpersfield.
Thursday, they toured Stone House Farm, a maple producer in Sharon Springs; Ridgedale Farm, a dairy also in Sharon; Black Willow Pond Farm, a diversified livestock farm, and Schoharie Valley Farms.
Before leaving the Kelleys’, Assemblyman Tague touched on the challenges ahead for agriculture.
“To survive in agriculture today, you need to be able to embrace change like Scott and Kathy have,” he said.
To the Kelleys he said, “Let us know what we need to do for you in Albany.”